My father, who immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager from Sparta, Greece, instilled in me a strong work ethic that was hardened by the loss of my mother at age 9. I am a first-generation immigrant, the first in my family to attend college. I was inspired to go to law school both by my father, who insisted on a strong education, and by a law student who I worked with at a restaurant while I was an undergraduate at UCLA. To me, the thought of using the power of a law license provided to help others was an incredible calling and a way to jumpstart my life to live the American dream.
While attending UCLA and Loyola Law School, I maintained a nearly full-time job. I spent eight years working for pioneering plaintiff lawyer David M. Harney – two years during law school, and six years after. I practiced medical malpractice, personal injury, as well as product liability, and handled numerous mass tort cases including Fen-Phen litigation. At 36 years old, I was appointed to be a Superior Court Judge by Governor Davis where I spent nearly nine years conducting civil and criminal trials in Orange County, California. I left the bench to join Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP as Director of Litigation and Partner. Reluctant to give up the "Judge" title entirely, I became licensed to judge professional Mixed Martial Arts [MMA] competitions in California in 2008.
I've been married to my amazing wife, Kristie, for more than 27 years, and I am the proud father of Jonathan, 26, and Mary, 23. One of my proud moments as a father is that Jonathan is taking the July 2024 bar exam after graduating UC Irvine Law School and will work with our firm. I am also incredibly proud of my daughter who is now working in PR and obtaining her masters degree. Every time we talk I feel proud of the adult she has become (and she is a lot of fun). Licensed in California and Nevada, I'm proud that I've been able to help build one of the finest plaintiff personal injury firms in the country.
